


Relationship & Loyalty Studies

by Morganatique9



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Infidelity, Mild Sexual Content, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Referenced drinking problems, References to Depression, Season/Series 06, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, emotional angst, season 6 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:33:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27385009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morganatique9/pseuds/Morganatique9
Summary: What would you do if you found out your friend’s girlfriend is cheating on him?That’s a question Annie Edison unfortunately asks herself after seeing Jeff’s girlfriend with another man.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Comments: 60
Kudos: 66





	1. Breaking news

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there!
> 
> So this is an idea I've had a few days ago, as the tags mention, it'll be an angsty fic, emotionally. As usual, I'll make a happy ending but not before some emotional torment uponhand...
> 
> It sets during Season 6, I'll make some changes but mainly keep close to the series' events during that season, at the exception that Jeff has a girlfriend. As most of my Community works, the main pairing is Jeff/Annie.
> 
> I've decided to rate it Mature because there's going to be angst, drinking problems mentions and, later on, sexual content. If you don't feel comfortable with neither of those mentioned above, I don't advice you to read this fic.
> 
> Hope you'll like your reading! Feedback, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated :)
> 
> (As usual, a huge thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel people, who've supported me and helped me brainstorm ideas for this fic. You guys are the best!)

_**Chapter 1 : Breaking news.** _

The moment of the year Annie Edison likes above all, contrary to most people, is the beginning of a new school year. Why? Well, because she likes studying, she likes learning new subjects, and most of all, she likes seeing her friends again after two long months of summer.

Her last year at Greendale will make no exception to that. Especially after the tumultuous ending of the previous year. To think Greendale has been _this_ close to being signed off to Subway… Lucky for them, the Save Greendale committee did, in fact, save Greendale one last time. Well, technically, Borchert did. But it would not have happened if it was not for the infamous study group slash Save Greendale committee.

Thankfully, Greendale is still standing and waiting for them to go there one last time. Annie, Abed and Britta as students, Jeff as a teacher. If only Troy and Shirley could still be here… Unfortunately, life has to move on and sometimes, it means people are leaving. As Abed would call it, people spin off. But Annie is not so much afraid of these new changes. She knows it is only a matter of time until the group is fully reunited again. They just need a little patience for that.

Regardless, it does not change the fact that Annie Edison is excited about going back to college, about being able to spend time with her friends again, which is why, for a change, she has decided to host a “back to school” dinner the night before classes start again. It has not been easy to convince Abed, her roommate, to host it at their apartment, since he doesn’t understand the point in hosting a dinner when they will all meet again the day after. But after Annie has insisted on how much it would mean to her – and what a great season premiere it would make for their show – Abed has eventually conceded.

Therefore, that Sunday afternoon, Annie joyfully goes to the grocery store to buy the last ingredients they need to cook vegetarian lasagna – basically, they replace the meat with spinach and the tomato sauce with ricotta.

On her way to the local store nearby, Annie stops at a traffic light and lets her eyes wander around her until it turns green. In the distance, on the adjacent sidewalk, there is a couple kissing and hugging, as if they haven’t seen each other in a long time. Annie can’t help but look at them. There is a man and a woman, obviously both in their forties, dressed stylishly. Annie gets fascinated by the woman’s appearance. She looks elegant, refined and extremely gorgeous. She is smiling from ear to ear as she wraps her hands around the man’s neck and plants a passionate kiss on his mouth.

After that, Annie instantly looks away, feeling like an intruder in that couple’s intimacy. Then, she finds herself smiling softly as she starts crossing the street. Love and romance always soften her up, and sometimes, maybe most of the time even, she secretly hopes she could live a story like the man and the woman from the adjacent sidewalk. They looked happy and blissful, and Annie wants that too. After Vaughn left, she never got to feel it again. At some point, she thought she could finally have it again. Until Jeff announced he would get married to Britta because they thought Greendale was over.

Annie shakes her head at that thought and tries to chase it away. Over the summer, she firmly promised herself she would not ruin her life over it since it hasn’t even happened in the end. She promised herself she would stop thinking about it, she would focus on herself, on her studies, on her achievements. And Annie is more than determined to keep that promise. She owes herself that much after crying over Jeff Winger, over and over again.

***

When Annie gets back to Apartment 303, her hands carrying two heavy bags, she calls for Abed to come help her while she locks the front door behind her. Her roommate comes shortly after that and immediately grabs the bags she is holding to free her.

“Thanks, Abed.” Annie sighs, out of breath.

“Sure. Did you find everything we needed?”

“Yup. Even got ingredients to make some homemade humus and tzatziki, I think Britta digs it.”

“Cool. I’ve already set the table, I hope you don’t mind. I was bored waiting for you.”

“Oh of course, thanks Abed!” Annie exclaims while walking towards the kitchen. “You didn’t have to wait for me, you know, you could’ve watched a movie or something.”

“I know. I just didn’t feel like it.” Abed bluntly admits.

Annie freezes and slowly turns to Abed after he has said that. He is casually putting the ingredients Annie bought into the fridge before turning around to face her and share a puzzled look with her.

“You look confused.” Abed points out.

“Yeah, hmm, sorry, it’s just… Are you okay?” Annie stammers, taken aback.

“I’m fine, what makes you think otherwise?”

“Well… Abed, I think it’s the first time I’ve heard you say you _didn’t feel_ like watching a movie. I guess it just… surprised me.”

“Oh. Now that you mention it, it _is_ kind of startling and unusual.” Abed pouts, looking reflective.

“Are you sure everything’s okay?”

“I think. I don’t know. Maybe things are going to change and it’s already starting to unbalance the natural order of things.”

“Well, every new school year is synonym of change, maybe this year unsettles you more than the previous ones, for… obvious reasons.” Annie suggests, thinking of Troy’s departure the year before.

“I don’t think so, Annie. It’s obviously our last season, in Greendale at least, we all know that last seasons imply big changes and plot twists to keep the fans hooked until the finale. I’m guessing we’re about to have those soon enough.”

Annie doesn’t know what else to do besides shrugging and pursing her lips. She is not keen on bringing bad luck on them, since Abed’s predictions have often happened to become realities. Therefore, she decides to nod the conversation away and instantly changes the subject.

“So when should we start making the lasagna?” Annie gleefully asks Abed.

***

When the evening comes, Annie and Abed are ready to welcome their guests. Even though Annie has remained casual for this dinner party, wearing a modest turquoise blouse tucked into a pair of blue jeans, Abed has surprisingly dressed up, even though he wasn’t excited about the idea of throwing a “back to school” dinner in the first place. Therefore, Annie looks at him with an eyebrow raised as he joins her in the living-room, dressed into an elegant tuxedo adorned by a red bow-tie.

“You look nice, Abed.” Annie softly tells him. “What’s the occasion?”

“Well, both you and I figured we’ll probably deal with a plot twist this year, I thought maybe tonight will be our last friendly dinner party with the group, so I might as well make it memorable by dressing nice.” Abed seriously explains to Annie.

“Oh.” Annie lets out, dumbfounded. “I see.”

“Don’t worry Annie, I don’t believe this is what’s going to happen, though. But you never know.”

Annie gulps and puts on a smile as she sits down on the nearest chair in order to wait for their friends. Even though she is trying to not put too much attention into it, she hopes Abed is overanalyzing the situation and nothing too “twisty” will happen. Unfortunately, Annie is starting to get a bad feeling about it and her intuition rarely deceives her. She has what some people would call “a persuasive hunch”. And by some people, she actually means Britta, who loves to try analyzing and therapizing her friends.

As if her ears have been burning, Britta makes her appearance shortly after Annie had that thought. In order to greet her guest and friend properly, Annie stands up at once and walks towards Britta to briefly hug her.

“Hey girl, been a while!” Britta chirps happily.

“Yeah! I’m so happy you’re here.” Annie retorts in the same tone. “Oh, here, let me help you with that.” She suggests before taking the two bottles of wine Britta is holding in her hands.

“Thanks.” Britta says before heading towards the couch in the living-room area. “Hey Abed, what’s up?” She greets Abed.

Later on, Chang arrives, shortly followed by Jeff, who is, as his usual self, five minutes late.

“Are you ever going to be on time, Winger?” Britta taunts him.

“I’m not going to make any promise, I don’t want to get your hopes up, Britta.” Jeff retorts.

Soon enough, after greeting everyone, the group settles down at the dinner table while Annie puts the freshly cooked plate of lasagna in the oven, leaving them some time to have a drink before it is ready to be eaten. In the meantime, Annie also puts her homemade humus and tzatziki contained in little bowls on the table along with some breadsticks.

“Wow that looks amazing Annie!” Britta exclaims, immediately grabbing a breadstick that she dips into the tzatziki.

“Yeah, you really outdid yourself for this dinner.” Jeff tells her with a thin smile.

“Oh, it’s nothing, please.” Annie waves off, blushing a little. “I was just really excited to see you guys again, after every summer break, I feel like we haven’t seen each other in ages!”

“So how was your summer, everyone?” Britta asks casually while chewing on her piece of breadstick.

“Pretty boring.” Chang shrugs. “I looked after my neighbor Karen’s cactus plants, tried learning Italian and I also think I almost got kidnapped by angry monkeys at the zoo because I was trying to climb inside their cage.”

“WHAT??” Everyone shouts with widened eyes.

“What?? Is it really _that_ shocking that I want to learn another foreign language willingly?” Chang exclaims, crossing his arms against his chest in an offended way.

“O-kay…” Jeff whispers, sharing a puzzled look with Britta.

“Well, _my_ summer was rather fun.” Britta chimes in to change the subject. “I went on a spontaneous road trip to Canada, more precisely around the Canadian’s border, with some very cool people I’ve met at a protest rally for LGBTQ+ rights.”

“Oh wow, Pierce would be gloating if he could hear this.” Jeff scoffs.

“We’ve seen so many gorgeous places.” Britta continues, ignoring Jeff’s intervention. “Like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, or Yoho National Park and the Heritage Park Historical Village. Then I came back here and tried some meditation classes to kill time, they were actually online so it was kind of weird to practice in front of a webcam but –“

“What about you, Annie and Abed?” Jeff interrupts Britta, which makes her scowl. “Done anything interesting this summer?”

Annie distractingly listens to Abed narrating in his cinematographic way of speaking all the things they did over the summer in Apartment 303 as the others drink in his words, laughing when the timing allows it. However, Annie’s attention is drifted on Jeff. She silently observes him as she mentally reminisces what happened in Borchert’s lab and, overall, that whole day they saved Greendale from being sold away to Subway.

Jeff’s discreet wrinkles around the eyes are a little bit more pronounced and he is now fully letting his beard grow, even though it has a few grey hair in it. The grey hair adds more charm to the already frustrating Winger charisma, though.

Annie also notices how soothed and appeased Jeff actually seems. She doesn’t think she has ever seen this kind of look on his face. She wonders what could have caused that change. But regardless, it suits him. And it warms Annie’s heart up.

Annie eventually lowers her eyes to stare at her own hands resting on her thighs, tying and untying her fingers together. She tries her hardest to remember the promise she made to herself and stop thinking about that day, stop thinking about the fact Jeff was actually willing to marry –

“Annie?”

Upon hearing her own name, Annie promptly lifts her head up to look at Britta, who has apparently asked her a question.

“Y – yeah?” Annie stammers, embarrassed by everyone’s attention and frowns.

“What about _your_ summer, precisely?” Britta visibly repeats.

“Oh. Um, you know. What Abed said.” Annie simply says with a shrug.

Annie hopes her friends will get the hint and let this one slide, because in reality, her summer has been mostly about questioning herself, brooding over the recent events and trying to keep her mind occupied before going crazy. She doesn’t necessarily want everyone to know that. Especially not the one who is currently looking expectantly at her with his electrifying blue eyes.

“Well, looks like we’ve kept the best for the end.” Jeff eventually says teasingly.

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s totally coincidental that you haven’t spoken up until now.” Britta points out sarcastically.

“My summer’s been pretty great, actually.” Jeff then adds, not responding to Britta’s bicker.

While the rest of her friends starts throwing curious questions at Jeff to have more details and find out what he did, Annie keeps her eyes focused on him, even though he doesn’t pay attention to her in this instant. Annie quickly looks away, though. It has become more difficult to look at Jeff’s face without having a painful flash of him lying in a hospital bed after his fortieth birthday crisis. Annie’s throat tightens at that thought but she tries swallowing it away and refraining the overwhelming riptide of sadness that tries to immerse her. She doesn’t want to drown in it. Especially not right now, when she is finally reunited with her dear friends.

“You know, I can’t hear you all distinctively if you all speak at the same time.” Jeff teases his friends.

“To be fair, I think we probably all wonder the same thing.” Abed points out. “What life changing event happened to you this summer to make you feel this way?”

“What makes you think it’s a life changing event?” Jeff asks Abed curiously, frowning.

“Just made a bold guess. But your reaction confirms it.” Abed smiles.

Jeff chuckles at Abed’s perceptiveness and runs a hand through his messy-on-purpose-to-look-casual hair. Annie suddenly notices a brown leather woven bracelet on his left wrist she has never seen him wear before. She is quite surprised, because Jeff isn’t the kind of guy who wears a bracelet. At least, it is what Annie always thought.

“So? Spit it out Jeff, you’re getting on my nerves!” Britta exclaims, slightly punching his shoulder.

“The suspense is terrible.” Chang murmurs, covering his mouth with his hands.

“Alright alright, if you all insist so much.” Jeff yields ironically.

Jeff is putting on a show, like he usually is, although this time, it sounds like he is genuinely excited about something, thrilled even. Annie seriously wonders what it is.

“Well, as you are all aware of by now,” Jeff begins his narrative, “I’m a fervent member of the gym, so that means I go there very often. Well, last year, I wasn’t going there that much because of… reasons you also know, obviously.”

Jeff suddenly clears his throat and delicately loosens the shirt collar around his neck, as if it is tightening him. Annie notices the sudden behavior shift and gets flashbacks of what Jeff is referring to. She moistens her lips and tries to focus on his story rather than dwelling on the past.

“Anyway, so, as summer started, I’ve decided to try going back there more, even though I wasn’t really feeling like it.” Jeff pursues, accompanying his speech with hands gestures. “And, um… As a matter of fact… I’ve met someone.”

The reactions are not taking a long time to make themselves heard – loudly, even. As Britta is making funny noises while gently drumming on Jeff’s arm, as Abed is asking uninterrupted questions about the details of this encounter and if it was rom-com enough, and as Chang is apparently saying inappropriate things, the only one who stays completely silent is Annie. She can do nothing else than staring incredulously at Jeff, whose lips slowly turn into a smile at his friends’ feedback on the news.

“Can I finish my story?” Jeff asks once the room is quieter.

“Please, we’re dying to know more!” Britta taunts him.

“Does this mean you have a _girlfriend_ , Jeff?” Abed bluntly asks him.

It is when Abed says the word out loud and she sees Jeff smirking as a response that Annie’s heart freezes in her chest.

“Ha, just so you know Winger, it’s not because a shop assistant tells you she thinks you’re nice that it means she’s your girlfriend.” Chang scorns at Jeff haughtily. “Trust me, been there, done that, you don’t want to get your heart broken, do you now?”

“What?” Jeff lets out, stunned.

“Wh - whaaat?” Chang repeats dumbly, picking up on the fact that he’s been missing the point.

“Jeff, that’s amazing, I’m genuinely happy for you.” Britta softly says before briefly hugging Jeff.

“Thanks Britta, it means a lot.” Jeff responds, still smiling.

Jeff’s eyes are sparking and the smile on his face doesn’t wear off, and these simple facts make Annie realize that whoever it is Jeff is dating, she sincerely makes him happy. Jeff finally looks like he has escaped the endless self-pity vicious circle he has been trapped into for a while. Of course, he is happy. And of course his friends are happy for him too. Then, why can’t Annie feel happy for him the way Britta, Abed or Chang do?

“Tell us more!” Britta chirps excitingly. “What’s her name? What’s she like? How can she put up with you on a daily basis?”

“That’s a question you’ll be able to ask her yourself soon enough.” Jeff chuckles, visibly amused by Britta’s bickering.

“What do you mean?” Britta asks, taken aback. “Han!” She then gasps. “Does this mean… Oh my God… Jeffrey Winger, does this mean you are serious with a woman and you’re going to introduce her to us?”

“Well… Maybe, yes.” Jeff proudly responds.

As another round of excited and supportive cheers blows up, Annie’s now frozen heart shatters into a million pieces inside her rib cage. When Abed briefly makes eye contact with her, she forces herself to put on a smile to hide her distress. Abed is too perceptive and he will definitely notice something is wrong if Annie does not play along.

“Wow, that’s amazing Jeff.” Annie lies in a pretend excited voice, even though it is tremulous. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Thank you Annie, I appreciate it.” Jeff softly says, laying his eyes on her. “I’m sure you two will get along.”

Jeff’s gaze is too intense for Annie to handle, therefore, she smiles hesitantly before looking away. Luckily, Britta’s persistent questions allow the attention to deflect from Annie.

“So, can you at least tell us her name??” Britta reiterates.

“Oh, sure, sorry, I’m… kind of overwhelmed right now.” Jeff apologizes, chuckling nervously. “Her name’s Isabella, she’s forty-two and she’s a marketing manager in a pretty influential firm in Denver.”

“Wow, she sounds like a powerful woman.” Britta says proudly.

“She definitely is.” Jeff confirms. “I think you’ll like her too Britta, she’s actually involved in some sort of animal welfare organization, I think. She has two dogs, by the way.”

“Oh my God, she sounds _perfect_ Jeff, what convincing lie have you told her to get her interested in you?”

“Ha-ha-ha, very funny Britta.”

As the conversation keeps going and eventually switches to Chang and how his neighbor Karen has named her cactus plants, Annie’s mind drifts away and she tries to stay connected with her friends and focus on what is happening around her, but she doesn’t manage to do so. Her inner voice keeps shouting the same things in her head, over and over again.

Jeff has a girlfriend named Isabella, he sounds undeniably crazy about her, he is happy with her.

Jeff almost got married to Britta a couple of months ago because she is part of her comfort zone. Britta and Britta only.

Jeff was severely troubled and depressed a few months ago and now, he is doing much much better. And Annie has absolutely nothing to do with it. Even though she wishes she would. And it hurts. So damn much.

***

The next day, the group meets back in Study Group F on Greendale’s campus, prepping for another school’s year. Of course, like everything at Greendale, things don’t go as planned when the Dean introduces the new professional consultant, Francesca Dart, to them. And that woman really sounds like trouble.

At the end of the day, they are all a little tensed, however, Jeff quickly relaxes when they get off campus and walk towards the parking lot. Annie has almost forgotten what Jeff had in mind for today until she sees him scampering towards an incredibly gorgeous woman, waiting right by his Lexus. As if the day hasn’t been stressful and shitty enough, Annie now has to witness Jeff gently grabbing the woman’s waist to slowly make her spin around him, which results in a rain of melodious giggles coming from her mouth. When her feet touch the ground again, she puts her hands over Jeff’s neck and promptly gives him a chaste kiss on the mouth. Annie swallows hardly at this sight and, also, has the weirdest feeling of déjà-vu, all of a sudden.

“Hey guys, come and meet Isa!” Jeff waves at Britta, Annie and Abed.

While Britta and Abed practically run to join Jeff and Isabella, Annie pretty much drags her feet to get there as slowly as possible. However, when Jeff suddenly focuses on her, she subconsciously walks faster. In fact, Jeff looks like he is waiting for her arrival before properly introducing them.

“So, Isa, let me introduce you to Britta, Abed and Annie.” Jeff proudly says, pointing at the appropriate person when mentioning their name. “Guys, this is Isabella, the reason for my goofy smiles last night.”

“So sorry you had to deal with the goofy smiles, everyone.” Isabella jokes with them, which makes Britta chuckle.

“Oh don’t worry, it’s not the worse we’ve had to put up with.” Britta jokes back.

“Hey, behave, if you’re going to embarrass me, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Jeff immediately says, half-joking half-serious.

“It’s okay Jeff, it’s a natural process when the girlfriend meets her boyfriend’s friends, they will eventually let me in on some embarrassing anecdotes about you.” Isabella points out, smiling.

“Oh God, I wish we could’ve skipped that process.” Jeff winces.

“Don’t worry babe, I’ll still like you, even after knowing your most shameful moments.”

Afterwards, Annie watches Jeff placing his arm behind Isabella’s back and putting his hand on her waist before gently pulling her closer and planting a kiss on her lips. Annie wishes she wouldn’t give a crap but seeing that little scene of deep affection and how it makes Jeff’s face light up, she can’t face it any longer and eventually lowers her eyes to the ground. She mentally repeats herself in a loop the promise she made herself. She is way more than done hurting over Jeff Winger when he is not even aware of it.

At some point, Annie gathers her courage and raises her eyes again to quietly observe Isabella as she chit-chats with Abed and Britta. She is really gorgeous. Elegant, stylish, gracious. Annie can definitely see why Jeff is so fond of her. She is basically perfect.

Chestnut-colored short wavy hair, piercing caramel brown eyes, a soft face with delicate features graced by discreet freckles, luscious lips adorned by a classy red lipstick and a smile to die for. Isabella is an insanely beautiful woman and as she admires her, Annie feels drawn into that beauty, as if it is familiar, as if she has seen it already in the past.

She is dressed like a typical business-woman, with a white blouse covered by a black blazer, high-waist black pants and brown derby shoes. She is honestly stunning and Annie feels even worse at that realization. How can she even hate a woman so beautiful and so obviously nice?

“Annie, stop staring, you’re going to make her uncomfortable.” Britta suddenly whispers in her ear.

Annie startles and instantly looks away, inevitably locking eyes with Jeff. He is currently looking at her inquisitively. It almost feels like… Jeff is waiting for her opinion. Like he wants her approval. Like he _needs_ it.

“Well, I don’t want to hold all of you if you have places to go to.” Isabella then says politely. “Maybe we should head home, Jeff?”

“Sure, babe.”

Does Isabella already live with Jeff? The thought tears Annie’s heart up. She hates herself for a hot second because she is feeling like this for a guy who would choose a million different women over her and she struggles to convince herself he is not worth her misery.

“Alright lovebirds, have a good evening!” Britta says. “See you tomorrow, Jeff.”

As Britta walks away, shortly followed by Abed, Annie stays in place a few more seconds, her brain quietly ordering her legs to move. Then, Isabella turns her head to face Jeff properly and Annie can thus see her side face.

And that’s when it hits her. That’s when Annie recognizes her. Annie almost gasps out of shock when she understands why she had this disturbing feeling of déjà-vu with Isabella a few minutes ago.

Isabella is the elegant woman Annie saw the day before on the adjacent sidewalk as she was going to the grocery store. The elegant woman who was passionately kissing a man. A man who was definitely _not_ Jeff.

That surely is the plot twist Abed has foreseen.


	2. She put a spell on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter!
> 
> Thank you for the feedback on the first chapter, I'm so glad you guys like that fic already! It's a little different from what I usually write but I'm excited about writing that story.
> 
> The angst is going to really take place in the next chapter. For now, it's revolving a lot around Annie's mental torment.
> 
> As for the sexual content, you'll have to wait a couple of chapters...
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy your reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated :)

_Isabella is cheating on Jeff, Isabella is cheating on Jeff, Isabella is cheating on Jeff…_

Annie is incapable of thinking about something else, anything else than the dreadful truth. The weight of this secret that she alone has to bear is insufferable and she has no idea what is the right thing to do in this kind of situation.

The evening after Jeff has introduced Isabella to the group, Annie comes home and instantly locks herself in her bedroom. Around seven, Abed knocks on her door to ask her if she is hungry. She vaguely responds that she does not feel well and would rather be alone. She knows Abed will respect that and give her the space she needs rather than having to deal with her misery.

After putting the album _Rumors_ by the music band Fletwood Mac on the small Bluetooth speaker Abed and Troy gave her for her birthday the year before, Annie lies down on her bed, rigid, her hands crossed on her stomach. She tries to let herself get carried away by the song _Dreams,_ like she usually does when she listens to it, only this time, she struggles to clear her head.

Annie really can’t wrap her head around it. How can someone already cheat on a partner they’ve only been dating for a couple of months? It doesn’t make any sort of sense. If Isabella is unhappy with Jeff, why not just break up with him? Why go behind his back with another man?

Maybe Annie is wrong, after all. Maybe it’s not Isabella she saw kissing that man in the street. There are probably lots of gorgeous women with chestnut-colored hair and a perfect side face nose in the town of Greendale. It must only be a coincidence. Yes. Annie must be wrong.

Then, why doesn’t Annie’s hunch fade away? Why doesn’t she feel better after telling herself that? Because Annie’s instincts have never failed her so far and she can feel like something is wrong with Isabella.

Annie exhales sharply and covers her face with her hands to escape the real world for a minute. She hates being in charge of such an awful information. What does she do about it from now on? Does she have to warn Jeff? Does she need to tell him the woman he feels so desperately good with is not being honest with him?

Annie can’t do that to Jeff. He is finally getting his life back on track and he genuinely looks happy for the first time since she has met him. She would hate to be the person who makes his whole world crumble apart. Not after what he has been through. Not after _witnessing_ with her own eyes what Jeff has been through.

If only Annie could ask for advice about this… But she is fully aware none of her friends can be let in on the problem. It’s a very heavy secret Annie has on her chest and she is not sure any of the people in her study group is able to handle it.

Abed? He would want to turn this into a whole investigation worthy of a detective movie and eventually, he would tell Jeff everything without taking his feelings into consideration, and it’s possibly one of the worst outcomes this story could have.

Britta? She would go full-on therapist with Annie to convince her it is wrong to lie to her friend and the right thing to do is telling the truth. And then, she would “britta” it and let the secret slip to Jeff herself.

The Dean? He would obviously take advantage of the situation to try and break Jeff’s relationship up in order to be the one to comfort him afterwards.

Chang? It is not even worth losing time explaining why, for many different reasons, it would be wrong to tell him about it.

Annie feels cornered. She would very much appreciate some attentive ear to confide in and some wise advices to follow. Maybe she could try to reach out to either Shirley or Troy? But again, the problem remains – they both know Jeff and probably wouldn’t be able to keep the secret to themselves. After all, they’re never at a loss for words.

Then what can Annie do? Confide in a stranger? At least, a stranger wouldn’t be a threat and couldn’t go running to Jeff to share what Annie knows.

Annie feels conflicted for a second, but eventually, the guilt gnawing her inside, she sighs heavily and jumps out of bed before grabbing a cardigan, her purse and walking out of her room.

“Where are you going?”

Annie flinches a little at the sound of Abed’s voice. He is sitting in one of the armchairs in front of the television, a bowl containing buttered noodles in his hands. He is also looking at her inquisitively.

“I’m just… going out for a bit.” Annie simply says, trying to look unperturbed.

“Alone?” Abed asks, frowning.

“Y – yeah. I just need some air, I won’t be long.” Annie pretexts.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Abed insists.

“Yes Abed, I’m going to take my car, don’t worry about me.” Annie tries to reassure him, even though she feels deeply stressed.

Abed frowns but eventually nods. Annie can tell he is intrigued but he does nothing to find out more about Annie’s real purpose. She thus hopes he won’t plan a stake out to follow her, wherever she is going to go.

“Be safe, text me if there’s something wrong.” Abed then simply says before focusing back on the television screen.

“Of course, thanks, I’ll call if there’s anything –“

“I’d prefer if you could text.” Abed rudely interrupts her. “I don’t like being on the phone that much.”

Annie exhales a small laugh, something that translates the nervousness and anxiety she has been holding in for a few hours now. She definitely needs to change her mind and forget what is on her mind for a little bit, to relax.

Afterwards, Annie grabs her keys on the key hook next to the front door and promptly walks out of the apartment, locking the door behind her. She then exits the building and jumps into her car before starting driving towards nowhere in particular. Once she is on the main road, she realizes she doesn’t even know where she could go. She is definitely not going to a park at this hour, not in the dark night. It would be ridiculous to go back on campus this late at night, too. Although she could definitely hang in the library for a while before it closes at 10 P.M… But then, she could not confide in any stranger about her situation, since people in Greendale probably all know about Jeff Winger.

Back to square one. Annie sighs, driving with one hand on the wheel and the other supporting her head, her elbow resting against the window. She figures the only logical place she could go to at this time of day is a bar, therefore, Annie drives until she sees one that doesn’t look too shady. Once she spots a signboard brightened by a yellow neon light, she switches the turn signal on her right and parks the car on the parking lot in front of the bar. As soon as the engine is turned off, she grabs her purse on the passenger seat and gets out of the car, staring for a few seconds at the signboard.

“Runaway Martini Parlor.” Annie reads out loud. “Hmm. Can’t be that bad.”

***

Annie has decided to sit at the bar, hoping maybe she would be able to confide in the bartender. She has seen this happening in a lot of movies, why couldn’t it happen for her too in real life?

“Hi, I’ll have a… well, a Martini, we’re in the Runaway Martini Parlor, after all.” Annie tells the bartender with a light laugh. “Please.” She immediately adds seriously.

“Sure thing.” The bartender simply responds.

The bartender, a man who looks in his thirties, turns around right away and starts pouring the liquor in a short glass. Annie quietly observes him as he gets her order ready with smoothness and rhythmically. After only a short minute, he puts two olives and ice in her drink before handing it to her.

“That’ll be eight dollars, please.” The bartender informs Annie.

“Oh, sure.” Annie says before giving him a ten dollars bill. “Keep the change.” Annie swiftly says with a smile.

“Thank you.” The bartender says, his lips lightly rising up before quickly falling down again.

Annie starts stirring the olives into her glass in a dramatic gesture, staring pensively at the movement of the liquid twirling.

“You know, I usually don’t go to a bar alone.” Annie starts saying, her eyes fixed on the olives in the glass. “Not that people who do are doing something wrong, it’s nice to be able to spend some time alone. It’s just that… I’m more of a stay-home-and-read-a-book-while-drinking-some-tea person when I’m alone. I only go out to places like this when I’m with my friends. I actually have this amazing group of friends that I met at my community college, but the reason I’ve come alone tonight is because I found out something terrible is happening to one of these friends, something that I should tell him because he deserves to know the truth, but it’s also a really difficult decision to make because I’m afraid he will –“

When Annie finally lifts her head up again, she instantly stops talking, as she realizes there is nobody in front of her. She turns her head on her right and sees the bartender at the other end of the bar, chatting with an old man, who definitely looks like a regular customer.

“Great.” Annie huffs, rolling her eyes before taking a sip of Martini.

Annie therefore quietly drinks her Martini, sometimes gently bouncing her head to the sound of the music playing in the background. About fifteen minutes later, she is almost done with her drink and is about to grab her cardigan, resting on the high stool next to the one she’s sitting on. Her mission is obviously a huge failure and the best she can do is go back home and reflect on her own, by writing the pros and the cons of telling Jeff about Isabella on a piece of paper.

“Hey, can I get a pint of beer, please?”

Annie instinctively turns her head towards the person who has just spoken next to her. A man is now standing a few feet from her, in front of the bar while the bartender is getting his beer ready. The man is a tall blond with blue eyes who looks like he is about Annie’s age. He is dressed in a red plaid shirt and a pair of blue jeans. His chin is adorned by a light ginger scruff and when he makes eye-contact with Annie and his lips turn into a smile, she feels immediately comfortable in his presence. Annie nervously smiles back and slowly puts her cardigan back down on the stool.

“Would you like a refill?” The man then asks her politely, tilting his head towards her empty glass.

“Oh. Hmm… I was, hmm… actually, I was getting ready to leave.” Annie stammers, taken aback for a second.

“Oh okay. Too bad, the night’s still young.” The guy answers, pouting disappointingly.

Annie discreetly checks her phone to see the time. It is only 8.30 P.M., maybe she can stay a little while longer, after all… Moreover, maybe the stranger she wants to confide in so bad found his own way to her, in the end.

“Actually, I’m… I haven’t eaten yet tonight, I’m kind of craving nachos with cheese sauce.” Annie admits, wincing.

“Say no more.” The guy says before waving at the bartender. “Can we order some nachos with cheese sauce and guacamole, please?”

“Sure.” The bartender answers.

“Still no refill?” The guy asks Annie.

“Oh no I’m good, I’m driving home after.” Annie responds responsibly.

“No problem. A glass of water for the lady, then.”

Annie chuckles and after the stranger lays eyes on her with a wide smile, she holds out her hand in front of him.

“I’m An… na.” Annie corrects herself at the last minute. “Anna. Short for Annabeth.”

Lying about her name reminds her of the Caroline Decker time, except this time, she is not lying in order to drink while underage. This time, she is lying so she can talk about her secret to someone who has no idea who Jeff Winger is. To do so, he can’t know who Annie Edison is either.

“Nice to meet you, Annabeth.” The guy replies before shaking her hand. “I’m Lucas.”

“Very nice to meet you too, Lucas.”

***

Annie and Lucas have been talking about everything and nothing for the last twenty minutes, while savoring a plate of nachos and chicken wings with their sauce on the side. When Annie eventually feels comfortable enough, her heart pounding in her chest from the nervousness she is feeling, she decides to try talking about her problem to Lucas. She really needs some advice to decide what to do, otherwise, she doesn’t know how she is going to sleep that night.

“Lucas, if that’s okay, can I… ask for your opinion on a personal matter?” Annie eventually asks shyly.

“Hmm… Yeah, definitely.” Lucas answers, frowning. “If you don’t mind a stranger giving you his opinion, of course.”

“That’s… actually what I’m looking for.” Annie admits.

“Then, you can absolutely ask me, Annabeth.” Lucas says with a comforting smile.

“Alright, hmm… So, you see, I have this friend, this very close of mine, that, hmm… Well, to sum up, he’s –“

“Hey babe, sorry, I got hold up at work.”

Annie widens her eyes and remains speechless when she sees a beautiful brunette taking Lucas in her arms and planting a kiss on his lips. Afterwards, she sits down on his lap and takes her coat off while ordering a glass of wine to the bartender.

Annie is astounded. Lucas has been lightly flirting with her for the last twenty minutes while waiting for his _girlfriend_ to show up? Annie can’t believe it. What is it with people cheating on their significant other lately?? She wants to grab her belongings, throw whatever is in her glass in Lucas’s face and storm off right away. Unfortunately, first of all, her glass is empty, and second of all, she notices how casual Lucas and his girlfriend actually are, even though the girlfriend has caught her boyfriend talking to another girl in a bar, and it surprises Annie so much she is suddenly incapable of leaving.

“No worries. How was work today, babe?” Lucas casually asks the girl before kissing her hand.

“Ugh, I don’t want to talk about it.” The girl sighs, chewing on a nacho. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s great.” Lucas answers cheerfully. “Babe, this is Annabeth.” He then adds while pointing a finger towards Annie.

Annie’s words can’t seem to leave her mouth in front of the absurdity of this situation. The girlfriend is now looking at Annie with a genuine wide smile on her face and a spark in her eyes. Annie would have expected a death stare and threats. But nothing like that happens.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Annabeth!” The girl chirps, taking Annie’s hand in hers to shake it. “What a beautiful name. And you’re so pretty!”

“Hmm… Th – thanks?” Annie stammers, dumbfounded.

“Annabeth, this is my girlfriend, Chloe.” Lucas proudly says.

“What were you two talking about before I rudely interrupted you?” Chloe asks softly while dipping another nacho into the guacamole sauce.

“Oh, actually, Annabeth was about to ask for my opinion on something.” Lucas recalls, focusing back on Annie. “Maybe Chloe can help as well.”

“Sure, I’d be happy too.” Chloe exclaims gently, nodding.

Annie is taken aback as Lucas and Chloe both look expectantly at her, waiting for her to talk. What is happening at the moment is surreal and she has no idea how to react. Annie is starting to get a weird vibe coming from these two, but she still desperately needs some advice and from the looks of it, it is not going to be Lucas or Chloe who are going to judge her. If anything, it’s a good thing she has met them tonight.

“Right.” Annie eventually says before clearing her throat. “So, I was saying that I have this friend, from my group of friends, who, hmm… Well, he recently started seeing someone and –“

“And you secretly have a crush on him and now you’re jealous.” Chloe ends Annie’s sentence for her, giggling lightly.

“Babe, stop interrupting Annabeth, she’ll never be able to finish her story.” Lucas softly tells Chloe.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Chloe winces.

“It’s okay.” Annie ensures, smiling awkwardly. “And I don’t have a ‘crush’ on him.” Annie adds, imitating quotation marks with her fingers on the word crush. “Not at all.” She chuckles nervously.

“What about him, then?” Lucas asks her, putting his first under his chin with an inquisitive look on his face.

“Well… As I was saying, he started seeing someone, a woman named… Olivia.” Annie says, lying about Isabella’s name on purpose. “On the paper, Olivia looks like a great person. She’s gorgeous, she has a good job, she’s sweet.”

“Sounds like a trap.” Chloe points out, while Lucas nods to approve.

“Yeah…” Annie sighs in a drawling voice. “And my friend is really happy since he started dating her because his… health wasn’t so good a few months ago. And apparently, Olivia helps him feeling better about himself and everything.”

“But?” Lucas then asks.

“But… Yesterday, I saw her kissing another man.” Annie finally confesses in a sigh.

Annie would have thought Lucas and Chloe would be shocked and outraged by that revelation. However, they look neither shocked nor outraged. They are just keeping a straight face, making sorry faces at Annie. Apparently, infidelity isn’t something outrageous to them.

“Yikes, I’m sorry for your friend.” Lucas simply says.

“Yeah, poor guy…” Chloe pouts.

“Are you sure he doesn’t know about it?” Lucas asks Annie. “You know, sometimes, things aren’t always what they seem. Maybe there’s like a… an unspoken arrangement between the two of them.”

“There’s definitely no such thing between them.” Annie contradicts, starting to have doubts regarding Lucas’s truest intentions.

“Did you tell him what you saw?” Chloe then asks Annie.

“That’s just the thing.” Annie answers in a sigh. “I didn’t, and I don’t know if I should tell him or not. Right now, this woman is like his lifeline and I’m afraid about the fallout of this revelation on him.”

“Well… Maybe try putting yourself in his shoes, then.” Chloe suggests, shrugging. “That’s what I do when I’m facing a dilemma.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Lucas approves. “If you were dating someone and your friend found out that person’s cheating on you, would you like him to tell you the truth or not?”

Annie hasn’t seen things from this perspective yet, which is why she takes a moment to reflect on the question Lucas has asked her. She actually doesn’t know what to say. She would certainly be upset if one of her friends knew someone she is dating was cheating on her and didn’t say anything to her about it. However, knowing the truth would definitely break her heart. And maybe that would result in her resenting her friend for telling her the truth.

Annie’s heart aches at that thought. She doesn’t want Jeff to resent her. It is the last thing she wants in the world.

“Oh no sweetie, don’t cry, it’s going to be okay.” Chloe suddenly says softly.

Annie then realizes her eyes got blurry as Chloe jumps off Lucas’s lap to wrap her arms around Annie. Weirdly enough, Annie hugs Chloe back and surprises herself by discreetly smelling her hair. It smells like citrus shampoo and the scent along with the soothing embrace appease her instantly. When Chloe parts from her, she lets one of her arms resting around Annie’s shoulders and then plants a soft kiss on her cheek.

“I don’t want him to hate me because I broke his heart.” Annie confesses in a tremulous voice, as Chloe softly strokes her arm with her hand.

“Honey, the only one who will break his heart in that situation is Olivia.” Chloe points out. “In a way, she kind of already did that by cheating on him in the first place. If he’s mad at you for caring and trying to protect his integrity, then, he’s an idiot who absolutely doesn’t deserve a treasure like you.”

“But you know what they say, the whole thing about shooting the messenger.” Annie remarks, sniffing briefly.

“How can someone shoot such a beautiful messenger, though?”

Annie’s heart skips a beat at Chloe’s remark and when she lifts her eyes up to look at her, Chloe has that spark again in her eyes, the one she had when she laid eyes on Annie earlier. Then, Annie turns her head to look at Lucas, sitting next to her. He is also looking at her, with the exact spark in his eyes that Chloe has in hers.

Only then, Annie realizes exactly why she had a weird vibe about them and she finally understands everything.

“Hmm… I should… probably go home, I told my roommate I wouldn’t be out late, he’s, hmm, he’s going to worry.” Annie says slowly, smoothly getting away from Chloe’s embrace.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine driving by yourself, Annabeth?” Lucas asks her in a concerning tone.

“Yeah, we can get you home, if you’re not feeling safe.” Chloe adds, gently caressing Annie’s cheeks with her fingertips.

“I’ll be okay, thanks guys.” Annie ensures, her skin shivering from Chloe’s touch.

“Okay, you do you, honey.” Chloe says gently, then stepping away from Annie. “Can we, hmm… Can I give you my phone number? You know, so you can text me when you’re home safe.”

Annie quietly observes Chloe biting her lower lip in a disturbingly attractive way and Annie feels weird for a second. Then, Chloe takes a pen out of her purse and softly takes Annie’s hand in hers before writing her number on it. In the meantime, Annie focuses on Lucas, who is looking at her so intensely she suddenly feels hot. Annie swiftly shakes her head to compose herself and when Chloe lets go of her hand, Annie moistens her lips before standing up, flattening her wrinkled pants and catching her breath.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry, hmm… I’ve got to go, sorry.” Annie stammers, putting her cardigan on and sliding her bag on her shoulder. “Thank you so much for listening to me and helping me guys, it felt good to get this off my chest.”

“Of course. Anytime.” Lucas says with a charming smile.

“You know where to find us.” Chloe adds with a wink.

Annie nervously chuckles and awkwardly waves at them before turning around. As she starts walking away, she feels so troubled by everything that just happened she almost trips on a chair. Embarrassed, she walks fast to exit the bar and get as quickly as possible to her car. When she is finally sitting inside, she exhales sharply and fans herself with one hand, her cheeks and upper chest burning red.

Eventually, Annie gathers her thoughts and turns the engine on in order to go home. As she does so, she catches a glimpse of the phone number Chloe has written on her hand, and suddenly, Annie starts smiling giddily before laughing softly.

Her friends would be amazed if she ever tells them an attractive couple has flirted with her in a bar.

***

The next day, when Annie gets on campus, she takes a deep breath and decides she is going to tell Jeff the truth about Isabella. Despite their very obvious and not subtle attempt of going home with her, Lucas and Chloe have helped Annie seeing things clearer, in the end. Her guilt is eating her alive, which is exactly why she needs to unburden herself. Even though it is going to be difficult. Even though it is going to be heartbreaking. Annie owes Jeff that much. Jeff deserves to know the truth.

Around noon, Annie rushes towards the study room after her class, where the group is going to meet to have lunch together. Annie has seen Jeff texted the group chat to let them know he is already there, therefore, she takes advantage of that spare time Abed, Britta and Chang won’t be here already to talk to Jeff alone.

Her heart is pounding so fast and loud in her rib cage the sound of its pulse echoes in her ears and almost makes her sick. Annie swallows hardly and takes her courage in both hands before facing Jeff. When she arrives in the hallway leading to the study room, Annie stops walking for a moment and catches her breath. She should not be this nervous. She can’t be that anxious. She needs to be strong, assertive and confident, otherwise, Jeff will not believe her.

At that thought, Annie puffs her chest and exhales sharply to get rid of all her negative thoughts and anxiety. Afterwards, she starts walking again and already opens her mouth before even entering the room.

“Jeff, I need to tell you s–“

Annie interrupts herself at once when she notices Jeff is not alone.

“Hey Annie, what’s up?” Jeff asks her cheerfully. “I hope you guys don’t mind, I told Isabella to meet us here for lunch, this way, I can show her around campus.”

Annie stiffens when Isabella lays eyes on her and smiles genuinely at her. Annie forces herself to stretch her lips into what resembles a smile the most, even though it physically pains her to smile at that woman.

Annie’s nausea increases when she sees Isabella’s hand laid on Jeff’s chest while Jeff’s arm is wrapped around her waist. Annie’s mouth is slightly open but no sound manages to come out of it.

“Are you okay, Annie?” Jeff asks her, frowning with a concerned look on his face.

“You look a little pale, darling, maybe you should drink some water.” Isabella remarks.

Annie’s jaw tightens at Isabella’s comment and she has to bite her tongue in order to refrain her thoughts from escaping her mouth as Isabella takes a bottle of water out of the tote bag on her shoulder and walks towards Annie while handing her the bottle.

“Here, you’ll feel better after that.” Isabella tells Annie while giving her the bottle.

“Thanks.” Annie simply says in a plain voice.

“You wanted to tell me something when you got here Annie, didn’t you?” Jeff then asks Annie.

Annie purses her lips nervously and lowers her eyes to the ground, not knowing what to say now that the person she wants to warn Jeff about is in the room with them.

“Oh where’s the bathroom Jeff?” Isabella suddenly asks him. “I’m going to give you two a minute, if you want.”

“Thanks babe, the bathroom’s down the hall on your left if you take that exit.” Jeff explains while showing her the direction.

Isabella gives him a kiss as a way of thanking him before walking out of the room. Annie watches her go away, walking elegantly on her high heels.

“Isn’t she amazing?” Jeff then sighs.

Annie turns back around to look at Jeff and feels her heart breaking into her chest when she sees how blissful Jeff looks in that moment. Annie’s lips start trembling and suddenly, the negatives thoughts she tried to chase away come rushing back and all sense of confidence and strength she felt like having instantly fades.

Annie can’t tell Jeff the truth. She can’t let this heartwarming smile and happiness be taken away from him. He doesn’t deserve to be deprived of that. And most of all, Annie can’t be the cause of it.

“So?” Jeff eventually says, stepping closer to Annie. “What did you need to tell me?”

“Hmm… I just, hmm…” Annie stammers, trying to think fast.

Jeff looks suspicious as Annie struggles to find an excuse believable enough, therefore, she decides to say the first thing that comes to her mind.

“I just wanted to know if you didn’t mind coming with me to the hardware shop this weekend.” Annie bluntly says without thinking. “Hmm, I, uh, I’ve decided to paint my room into a different color, but hmm, I don’t know much about paint and stuff, so hmm, I could use your help.”

“Hmm… Sure, I’ll go with you, but I’m not sure I know much more about paint than you do, Annie.” Jeff points out, smiling a little.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll still know more than I do.” Annie asserts, mentally slapping herself for her ridiculous lie.

“Okay, if you say so.” Jeff taunts her. “You’ll text me what time, I’ll come pick you up.”

“Great. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Jeff smiles at her afterwards and Annie wants to die inside. She does not say anything back and finally drinks water from the bottle Isabella has given her. She thus notices how dry her throat actually was.

When the other members of the group come into the room, Isabella comes back from the bathroom and there is an explosion of cheers and greetings from Britta, Chang and Abed. This scene makes Annie sick to her stomach and she refuses to participate in it. Before sitting down, she hails Abed and leans to talk in his ear.

“If Jeff asks you any question about me wanting to paint my room, pretend like you already know, okay?”

“Sure. I didn’t know you wanted to paint your room.” Abed simply tells her.

“I don’t.” Annie groans.

“But you said –“

“Don’t ask questions.”

Abed stares for a few seconds at Annie, bewildered, until she goes to sit down at her usual spot. Eventually, he shrugs and decides he will, indeed, not ask any questions.


	3. Pain and paint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!!
> 
> Lots of angst here. But some more is about to come... (with the truth about Isabella as well)
> 
> Hope you'll like this chapter, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated :)
> 
> (As usual, a huge thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel for their endless support and help. You guys are the best!)

**_ Chapter 3: Pain and paint. _ **

As the week goes by, Annie’s feelings of guilt and uncomfortableness don’t fade away. In order to avoid facing the problem, Annie has decided it is better for her and her sanity to spend as less time as possible with Jeff. Especially if Isabella is around. However, it turns out avoiding Jeff is not that easy.

For instance, Jeff has suggested the group should come and have dinner at his place on Friday evening in order to get to know Isabella better. Therefore, Annie has politely declined the offer, pretexting like she had something urgent to do.

However, when she meets Jeff in one of Greendale’s hallway on this Wednesday afternoon and she tells him she can’t make it to dinner on Friday evening, he apparently does not want to let her get away with her excuse that easily.

“What do you have to do on a Friday night that can’t wait, Annie?” Jeff asks her, following her as she walks towards her locker. “Don’t tell me you’re going to study. Even _you_ can’t skip a dinner party to study.”

“Well, as a matter of fact, Jeff, even _I_ can do that.” Annie retorts, a little bit annoyed. “I have an essay to write for that… class I’m majoring in, and it’s due on Monday, so I have to take care of it as soon as possible.”

“I see. For which class is it?”

Annie freezes as she stops in front of her locker and gets ready to unlock it. She does not even have to look at Jeff to know exactly how he is probably smirking at the moment, proud of having busted her.

“I could tell you, but I doubt you remember every class I’m taking.” Annie says, trying to sound casual.

“Try me.” Jeff retorts playfully.

Annie licks her lower lip, feeling frustrated. She is not going to let Jeff win, however, she decides to turn the situation around.

“Why do you care so much if I go to this dinner or not?” Annie then asks Jeff, while putting some books in her locker.

“Well, probably because you’re my friend and I like hanging out with you.” Jeff answers right away.

“Britta, Abed and Chang are your friends too, aren’t they? You can hang out with them, it doesn’t matter if I’m not here.” Annie ensures.

“Uh, I don’t know if I would say Chang is my friend but…” Jeff starts saying, looking reflective.

“You know what I mean.” Annie sighs. “Look Jeff, I’m sorry but I can’t make it on Friday. If you want, I’ll cook my cinnamon apple cake you like and tell Abed to bring it. We can say it makes up for me not being here.”

“You’re an angel. Raincheck, then?” Jeff says, backing away and pointing his fingers at her.

“S – sure, right.” Annie stammers.

Jeff then smiles at her and turns around before walking in the opposite direction. Once he is out of sight, Annie lets out a sigh and closes her locker before leaning against it. This is getting ridiculous, she is not going to be able to avoid him forever. Especially not this Saturday, when the both of them will go paint shopping.

Annie feels like an idiot. She should have stepped out of this one when she had the chance to. Unfortunately, Jeff told her he reserved his day for her, she is not going to cancel on him at the last minute. This would definitely be suspicious.

Besides, it will at least be a day he will not spend with his lying cheating girlfriend.

***

On Friday evening, Annie does what she said she would do and she stays at the apartment. She does have some things to study, in the end, which makes her feel less guilty about not going to Jeff’s dinner party.

During the afternoon, Annie did what she promised Jeff and baked a cinnamon apple cake, so that Abed could bring it. When it was finally done, she let it cool on the kitchen’s counter and reminded Abed to get it before he would leave.

“Why aren’t you coming already?” Abed had asked her, looking curious.

“Oh, you know. Homework. Lots of homework. Studying. The boring stuff.” Annie had blurted out.

“Annie, I’m not the best at understanding the human behavior and even I can tell you’re blatantly lying right now.” Abed had pointed out.

“Look, Abed, just… Don’t tell Jeff but I just didn’t feel like going, that’s all.” Annie had then confessed, tired of lying to everyone around her.

“I won’t tell him.” Abed had asserted. “It sounds like something you should tell him yourself."

“Yeah but the whole point is that I’m not going to tell him.” Annie had insisted.

“Why not?” Abed had asked.

“Because I don’t want to hurt his feelings, Abed.”

“It’s because of Isabella, isn’t it?”

Annie knows she should have known better and reacted differently, but in fact, she has not done anything to disagree or to contradict Abed’s remark. At this, Abed had pouted, visibly understanding there was something bigger than he thought behind this whole story, and without another word, he had taken the plate with the cake in it and had left the apartment.

So this is where it leads Annie, alone in her apartment on a Friday night while her friends are having fun without her because she does not want to be a hypocrite and spend an entire evening laughing with a woman she knows is not faithful to her partner.

At some point, Annie stops “studying” and lies on her bed to scroll down her phone. She then sees Jeff has sent her a text, which she reads right away. It is a selfie of himself, with cake’s crumbs around his mouth and his lips turned into a huge smile, above a caption that reads “ _delicious cake, as usual. too bad you weren’t here to eat it with us : ( xx_ ”.

Annie smiles after reading the text and instantly replies back with a smiling blushing emoji and a thumbs up emoji. Then, she puts her phone down and exhales abnormally longer than usual, covering her face with her hands. How long will she be able to keep up with this charade?

***

The next day, Annie gets ready before Jeff picks her up to go to the hardware shop. From the moment she has woken up, her stomach has felt like a pile of knots. She is anticipating this afternoon out with Jeff and she does not know how to behave with him whenever he will bring up Isabella and how happy he is with her. Because he obviously will. It has become a recurring subject in his life, and it is normal, since she is his girlfriend and he is happy with her. But Annie is tired of hearing about how perfect Isabella is now that she has seen through the masquerade.

When Jeff calls Annie to tell her he is on his way, she grabs a cardigan and her purse before going out of the apartment and heading downstairs to wait for him in front of the building. As soon as his car pulls up, she opens the door and slides into the passenger seat, bracing herself for whatever is going to happen from this moment on.

“Hey you.” Jeff greets her cheerfully.

“Hi.” Annie responds awkwardly.

“You okay?” Jeff asks her as he starts driving away.

“Y – yeah, I’m great.” Annie simply answers, unsure of herself. “You?”

“Terrific. We’ve missed you last night.”

“Aww.” Annie lets out instinctively. “Well, I’ve missed you guys too.”

“Have you missed some more than others?” Jeff teases her.

Annie chuckles quietly and does not respond on purpose. She has gotten used to Jeff’s teasing, and she can’t deny she likes teasing him too. However, she would not have thought the teasing would continue now that Jeff is no longer single. Maybe it has just become a force of habit and he does not even pay attention to it anymore.

“So what color are you going for?” Jeff then asks her.

Annie widens her eyes and turns her head to look out the window. She has to admit she has been so disturbed this past week that she has not given a single thought about this. And now more than ever, she really regrets it.

“Hmm, I, hmm…” Annie stammers, feeling cornered.

“Still indecisive, huh?” Jeff adds. “I get it, it’s a tough call to make.”

“Yeah, r – right, exactly.” Annie goes along. “Sooooo many colors, you know. Hard to pick just the one.”

Annie winces at her own sentence. She sounds truly helpless at the moment. She is usually capable of being a way better liar than this, what happened to her?

“There are, indeed, a lot of colors in this world.” Jeff replies ironically. “Well, you know, since purple is your favorite color, it’d probably be logical for you to choose one like that, wouldn’t it?”

“Hmm, yeah, sure. That’s a great idea, actually.” Annie nods.

“I could picture a sort of lavender color on these walls. It would be pretty. So it would suit you.”

Annie discreetly bites her lower lip and stares yet again out the window. The teasing is way too obvious for being innocuous.

“If you want, I can help you paint.” Jeff says after a few seconds of silence.

“Oh.” Annie lets out, surprised. “Hmm… You know, it should be fine, I’ll have Abed help me with that, the two of us will manage.”

“Are you sure you trust Abed to paint these walls?” Jeff points out with an amused smirk.

“Of course I do.” Annie asserts, even though she is not entirely convinced.

“Well, if you ever change your mind, I’ll be more than happy to help.”

Annie turns her head to look at him. He briefly glances at her and they smile to each other. Annie’s heart skips a beat during that eye-contact. Then, all she can think about is Isabella. Her face invades her mind and Annie has to focus really hard in order to get her out of it.

***

When they arrive at the hardware shop and wander around the store to look at the different types of paint, Annie realizes how expensive it actually is and it freaks her out for a few seconds. She should have come up with a cheaper and better excuse to get out of telling Jeff the truth that last time.

“So, is lavender a sealed deal?” Jeff eventually asks Annie.

“Yeah, sure.” Annie instantly replies. “Lavender’s perfect.”

“Okay, then I suggest we take two paint cans, those go faster than you’d think.” Jeff remarks.

Afterwards, Annie steps aside as Jeff grabs one paint can, then the other, and puts them in the cart. Annie does not even dare to look at the price tag.

“Alright, that’s one good thing done.” Jeff says out loud.

“Yeah, thank you so much Jeff, I think we’re good to go now.” Annie bluntly says, eager to get out of the store.

“Oh okay, so that means you already have paint rollers, paintbrushes, paint tray, tape, tarps to cover the floor and everything?”

Annie wishes she could disappear six feet underground at this moment.

“I take it from that look on your face that you don’t already have all the things I’ve just listed.” Jeff points out with a sympathetic smile.

“Hmm… No, I… might miss a few stuff still.” Annie makes up, feeling emotionally drained from that nonsense.

“Okay, no problem, let’s get those then.” Jeff says cheerfully.

A good fifteen minutes later, when the cart is full and they wait in line to pay, Annie starts feeling really anxious and does not know how to get out of this mess. Maybe she should tell Jeff the truth, right here, right now, and at least she will not have to pay a ridiculous amount of money for something she does not even intend on using.

When it is their turn and the cashier starts scanning all the articles, Annie carefully watches the items piling up and the total price raising up with a lump in her throat. She can definitely not afford to spend that much money at this instant.

“So, your total is two hundred fourteen dollars and fifty-nine cents, please.”

Annie almost feels tears at the corners of her eyes as she starts reaching out for her wallet in her purse, but then, she feels Jeff’s hand resting on her arm and she lifts her eyes up to look at him, confused.

“I got this, don’t worry.” Jeff softly tells her.

If they were not in a public place, Annie would hug Jeff on the spot and never let him go. She quietly watches him take his credit card out of his wallet, insert it in the machine and cover it to type his code. She can’t believe he is currently spending more than two hundred dollars for some paint material she was not even intending on using. Now, she will definitely feel like she has to re-paint these stupid walls.

Once they are out of the store and Jeff unloads the cart to put the newly bought items in the trunk of his car, Annie feels terribly guilty, more than she was feeling already.

“Jeff, I’m really embarrassed, it’s not like you just bought me a coffee there.” Annie points out with her cheeks slightly blushed.

“Please Annie, I wanted to do this for you.” Jeff tells her while closing the car’s trunk. “Knowing that you’ll have a newly painted and beautiful bedroom makes me happy.”

“I’ll pay you back.” Annie says instantly. “Maybe not right away, and maybe not all at once, but I’ll definitely pay you back.”

“Are you kidding? Absolutely not.” Jeff ensures. “See it as an early birthday present. Even though I’ll definitely still get you something else for your actual birthday.”

Annie’s lump in her throat increases to the point it almost makes her choke. How can someone possibly cheat on a person as considerate and sweet as Jeff?

***

On the ride back, Annie and Jeff are both comfortably silent for a little while. Annie silently glances at him from time to time, observing his hands on the steering wheel, his uncovered forearms because of the rolled up sleeves around his elbows, his concentrated gaze… She then imagines how one of the hands resting on the steering wheel must come to meet Isabella’s knee when she is sitting where Annie is currently sitting, and how Isabella must take that hand in hers and intertwine her fingers to his. Annie hurts more than she would like to at that thought and tries to chase it away.

Every single part of her body wants to unleash and yell at Jeff that Isabella is not who he thinks she is, that he deserves so much better than being cheated on, that he deserves someone who sees his true value, who loves him and cherishes him for everything he is, flaws included. Annie wants to tell Jeff all this, to make sure he understands how amazing he is. Yet, she does no such thing. And she keeps the truth yet again buried deep down in her mind.

When Jeff parks in front of Annie’s building, she gets ready to get out of the car, purse already on her shoulder, however, she stays still when she notices Jeff’s lingering gaze on her.

“Do you… want to tell me something?” Annie asks hesitantly.

“Hmm… Yeah, I think.” Jeff replies slowly, as if he is uncertain.

“Well… You can tell me anything, go ahead.” Annie softly encourages him.

“It’s nothing much, I’m probably just a little paranoid but… I got the impression that… You’re not really a fan of Isabella. Did I get it right?”

Annie should have expected that kind of question. After all, she is the only one of her friends who has not tried to make friends with Isabella. She is the only one who avoids interacting with her as much as possible. She is the only one who has not repeatedly said to Jeff how happy she is for him. Of course Jeff would have found all of that suspicious, especially coming from her.

“It’s okay if you don’t, I’m not mad or anything.” Jeff instantly clarifies. “I just… Your opinion matters to me, a lot, because you’re one of the most important persons in my life. So… I don’t know, oddly enough, I think you were the one I was waiting for the approval the most with Isabella and I’m not saying that to make you feel bad or anything, I’m just… genuinely surprised you two didn’t hit it off. I really thought you would, because you two have a lot in common, actually. She kind of reminds me of you sometimes.”

Annie blushes at that last sentence and Jeff seems to understand right away it was probably not the best thing to say, because his face becomes a little bit more colored too.

“That… probably came out wrong.” Jeff adds, nervously scraping the back of his neck.

“No, I… I get what you were trying to say.” Annie says hesitantly, even though she suddenly feels like it is very hot in the car.

“Yeah, so, hmm… Since you really didn’t want to come yesterday evening, I kind of figured out it may had something to do with Isabella.”

Annie is cornered. She can no longer avoid the subject. She can, however, try to turn it around a little bit. This way, she does not have to tell the whole truth. Just yet.

“Look Jeff, I… I obviously don’t know her well enough to tell you if we have things in common and if we can get along, I’m assuming you know her well enough to be certain of what you just told me. So… I can’t say we haven’t hit it off or whatever because I don’t really know her, in the end.”

“Then let’s change that, please.” Jeff says before taking Annie’s hands into his. “She’s really important to me, but you’re also really important to me, and I would love for some of the two most important women in my life to get along, you know. I realize it’s kind of selfish of me to reason like that, but Annie, I’ve… _we_ ’ve really missed you yesterday,” Jeff corrects instantly, “and I really hope next time we’re throwing a dinner or something, you’ll be able to come. Please give Isabella a chance. I swear she’s worth it.”

Annie’s consciousness wants yet again to take over and tell Jeff the whole truth, but all her heart is able to focus on is the feeling of her hands in Jeff’s, the feeling of his fingers gently rubbing her skin, and suddenly, Annie loses all sense of rationality.

“Okay, Jeff.” Annie whispers softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how important this was to you. Of course I’ll come next time.”

“Thank you Annie, it means a lot.” Jeff says with a smile.

Then, Jeff leans towards Annie in order to give her a hug. She immediately accepts his embrace and wraps her arms around him. Their motion is a little limited because of the confined space in the car but Annie enjoys it regardless. And Jeff’s cologne almost makes her lose her mind for a hot second.

When they part from each other and Jeff straightens again in his seat, Annie admits she is a bit disappointed that she is no longer in his arms.

“Okay, well, I’m probably going to help you take everything upstairs because there’s a lot of heavy stuff.” Jeff then announces before stepping out of the car.

Once they are done emptying the trunk and taking everything to Annie’s apartment, Jeff hugs her goodbye and leaves after softly stroking her cheek with his thumb and smiling genuinely at her. Annie smiles genuinely at him too.

Then, when she is finally alone in her bedroom, with no one else to see her and nobody she has to lie to, Annie falls apart and cries until there is no more water left in her body.


	4. Manipulation and truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter after a - shameful - long time!
> 
> This chapter took a lot of work and time because I want to be as thorough as possible with this angsty fic. It is heavily focused on Annie and Isabella. I hope you will enjoy your reading, any feedback, kudos and comments will be greatly appreciated!

**_ Chapter 4: Manipulation and truth. _ **

Annie does what she told Jeff she would do. She agrees to go to a party with him in order to get to know Isabella. Even though Annie already hates her with all of her being.

Therefore, a week after the paint purchase and the heartfelt talk in Jeff’s car, Annie gets ready to go to this party, thrown at Duncan’s place. At least, she feels relieved that her other friends will be there as well – Britta, Frankie, Abed, even Chang. Elroy has stepped out of this one, but obviously, Jeff has not run after him to convince him to come the way he did with Annie. It is not Elroy’s approval he is looking for, after all.

Annie goes to the party with her roommates, Britta and Abed, in one car. They meet the others there, and Annie’s heart tightens right away at the sight of Jeff and Isabella, laughing together, Jeff’s arm wrapped around Isabella’s waist. Annie swallows hardly and decides to ignore them at first in order to cheerfully greet her other friends along with the host.

“Hey Frankie!” Annie exclaims before taking her into her arms.

“Oh hello Annie, we’re doing hugs now? Okay.” Frankie responds, awkwardly hugging Annie back. “Britta, Abed, it is nice to see the three of you.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Frankie.” Britta approves with a great smile.

Annie pays attention to Britta for a few seconds and can’t help but notice the way she is looking at Frankie. Annie quietly smirks – apparently, there might be a little something there that has not been addressed yet.

“Is Ian around?” Britta then asks. “He gave me a book about the ABC’s of cognitive psychology a while ago and I finally remembered I need to return it to him.”

“I believe the last time I saw him, he was in the kitchen area.” Frankie answers.

“Cool, thanks.” Britta says. “Here guys, give me the beers, I’m going to put them in the fridge.”

Afterwards, Britta grabs the cases of beer Abed and Annie are holding before heading towards the kitchen to find Ian. The place is a little crowded and the music can be considered to be loud, but it also looks like everyone is already having a good time.

Eventually, Annie makes a random eye-contact with Jeff and as soon as he notices her, his face lights up and he grabs Isabella’s hand before heading in their direction.

“Great, here it goes.” Annie whispers half-heartedly before discreetly sighing.

“Hey guys!” Jeff exclaims joyfully. “Glad you could make it.”

“Good evening everyone.” Isabella coos. “Francesca, you look stunning in that dress.”

“Why, thank you so much Isabella, you look very fancy yourself.” Frankie replies with a smile.

Annie silently observes this exchange, completely taken aback. Isabella even managed to befriend Frankie, who is far from being easily impressed? _Wow, she is such a good manipulator_ , Annie thinks. Having everyone wrapped around her little finger already. If Annie never saw her that day with that other man, she would have definitely be fooled too. Luckily, the odds decided otherwise and Annie truly believes it happened for a reason. She needs to protect Jeff from that woman.

“Okay I’m going to go check on Ian, he started drinking before anyone arrived so I don’t really know in what state I’m going to find him now.” Jeff points out, half-joking half-serious.

“Oh, are you chaperoning tonight, Jeffrey?” Frankie asks curiously.

“Yeah, I’ve stopped drinking a few weeks ago you know, might as well use that for a good cause.” Jeff answers with a half-smile.

Annie’s heart almost stops beating in her chest at that revelation. Of course, Jeff would have stopped drinking alcohol since he started dating Isabella. Because she is so perfectly perfect and she makes him a better man. And who would take such a great person away from a man who needs all the positivity and the reassurance in the world at this stage of his life? Certainly not a friend.

“Maybe you can… catch up a little with everyone, babe.” Jeff says to Isabella.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m a big girl, I’ll manage to have a good time without you.” Isabella retorts teasingly.

Jeff pretends to be offended for a second before planting a soft kiss on Isabella’s lips. Afterwards, he locks eyes with Annie and gives her a meaningful look she sadly understands very well. Jeff is giving her the chance – well, rather, he is _not_ giving her a choice – to try befriending Isabella and get to know her better.

And so, the show begins.

“So how is life at Greendale lately?” Isabella asks enthusiastically to no one in particular. “Francesca, Jeff mentioned you had a lot on your plate when it comes to taking care of the school.”

“Well, I’m usually not keen on talking about my professional life in a personal life environment, but you’re right, handling that place certainly is quite challenging.” Frankie responds modestly. “I really consider myself lucky to get help from such an efficient group of people, in all honesty.”

At that remark, Frankie turns her head to look at Annie and her lips turn into a light smile, so discreet Annie could have missed it because of the dim lighting in the room. Annie instantly smiles back at Frankie and nods to approve.

“Annie, I’m really sad we haven’t gotten a chance to talk more yet!” Isabella then points out in a disappointed tone. “Jeff speaks so highly of you. I even think you’re the one in this little group that he talks about the most.”

Annie cannot help but blush upon hearing that. No wonder he so badly wants her to get along with his girlfriend.

“Well, I just hope you’re only hearing about the good stuff, then.” Annie forces herself to say jokingly.

She can do this. She can make an effort for Jeff. Besides, maybe being nice to Isabella and getting to know her better will get her to trust Annie and make her want to confide in her, for some reason…

“He’s just saying very positive things about you, you absolutely don’t have to worry.” Isabella ensures with a sympathetic face.

“Phew, I’m relieved!” Annie exclaims before chuckling.

“Hmm, okay, I was going to get a refill on some wine, do you… want to join me?” Isabella suddenly asks Annie, pointing her finger towards the great table across the room.

Annie hesitates for a second because she realizes Isabella is not suggesting that to Frankie nor Abed. She is only suggesting that to Annie. When she remembers the look Jeff gave her before, she realizes she does not have much of a choice, either way.

“Sure, let’s do that.” Annie says in a pretend cheerful tone.

Isabella looks almost relieved and less tensed now that Annie has agreed to come with her. She lets out a quick laugh and instantly turns around to walk towards the table on which lay all the food and beverages. Annie reluctantly starts walking behind Isabella, instinctively sharing a helpless look with Abed. He encourages her to go with a nod, as if he is perfectly aware of the mental torment Annie is currently going through. Annie thus gathers her courage, breathes out shakily and follows Isabella.

“What’s your poison, darling? Red, white, rosé?” Isabella asks as she grabs a cup for Annie.

“Hmm what are _you_ taking?” Annie asks hesitantly.

“Oh I have a preference for white wine, to be honest.” Isabella admits with a laugh.

“Then white it is.” Annie answers while nodding.

Annie quietly looks at Isabella, taking a bottle of white wine in her hand and lifting the glass she holds in her other hand in order to pour the liquid into it. Everything she does is so gracious and elegant, and she always looks so pretty, no matter what she is doing. She makes it very difficult to despise her.

When the glass is half filled, Isabella puts the bottle back on the table and hands Annie the glass.

“Thank you.” Annie soberly says.

“My pleasure.” Isabella retorts. “Alright, let’s make a toast!”

Annie’s throat tightens as she forces her lips to lift and form a smile to approve of Isabella’s idea. Afterwards, the two women raise their respective glass, holding them in front of one another.

“To our incoming friendship!” Isabella proclaims solemnly. “And to how happy and honored I am to finally be able to spend some time with the woman my Jeffrey values so much.”

Annie winces uncomfortably and as she clinks her glass with Isabella’s, she wonders if she is going to be able to put up with that masquerade all night long.

***

“Wait, hold on, so you’re saying... You’ve taken care of yourself after that pills addiction, enrolled into a rehab facility on your own, and your family didn’t even support you or help you in that process?”

“That’s correct.”

“Wow... Annie, just... Oh darling, wow, I’m so sorry to hear what you’ve been through. I’m in awe, honestly. You are so strong, and brave. And you turned out so well. I mean, look at yourself, you’re a gorgeous accomplished young woman. You must be so proud of yourself.”

Annie can’t help but smile at Isabella’s statement. Maybe it is the sound of the music that gets louder and louder as the guests get drunker and drunker, maybe it is the heat in the room, maybe it is the three glasses of white wine she just had, maybe there is no logical explanation after all, but Annie can almost feel like she is _genuinely_ having a good time with Isabella. The two of them are sitting down on the floor next to each other, backs against the wall, hidden to people’s sight.

Annie may be having a good time, as it turns out Isabella is an attentive and caring person. However, she does not want to lose sight of her truest goal there. She wants to get Isabella to talk. She wants Isabella to confess the truth to Annie, so Jeff can know everything about it. And Annie cannot get distracted by the fact Jeff was actually right and the two of them are getting along like Annie rarely has gotten along with someone in her life.

Fine, Annie can admit that she sees the appeal now. She can see why Isabella seems to have beguiled everyone in the study group. Annie even thinks she becomes slowly beguiled herself.

But unlike everyone else, Annie knows the truth. And no matter how alike Isabella and Annie are, no matter how sweet and kind Isabella has been to Annie since they started bonding, no matter how comfortable Annie feels confiding in her, the truth is simply impossible to forget.

“Have your parents and your brother ever reached out again recently, at least?” Isabella then asks, bringing Annie back to Earth.

“Hmm, well, I’ve seen my brother a couple of times and my… mom occasionally checks in.” Annie responds before licking her lower lip. “But we aren’t the perfect family for sure. And it’s better if they don’t pretend we are, to be honest.”

“I get that, sweetie. I have a very intense love/hate relationship with my older sister and my dad isn’t… _wasn’t_ exactly an angel with us growing up.”

Annie notices that Isabella promptly corrected the verb tense and she instantly connects the dots in her mind.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Annie says sympathetically.

“Thank you. It’s okay, he passed away a while ago already.” Isabella shrugs before taking another sip of wine. “Cancer. He used to smoke a lot when my sister and I were kids so his lungs didn’t go the distance…”

Annie wishes she would not feel any sympathy regarding that woman, she wishes she could just despise her and not care at all about whatever happened in her life. Yet, Annie is too empathetic not to care.

The more Annie gets to learn Isabella, the more she starts doubting everything she believed to be true. She starts doubting she ever really saw Isabella with another man. It could have been another woman. Maybe Annie has been wrong all along.

Yet, her instincts never deceived her and right now more than ever, she can hear a little voice in her head telling her she needs to get to the bottom of this, she needs to trust her gut.

“Do you want a refill?” Annie suddenly asks Isabella as she points her finger towards her empty glass.

“Oh no sweetie, thanks, I’m not in my twenties anymore and another glass of wine might actually kill me.” Isabella chuckles while shaking her head.

“Come on, I can’t be drinking alone!” Annie pouts ironically.

“Wow okay, Jeff wasn’t kidding when he said you were able to pull some irresistible doe eyes.” Isabella laughs before handing her glass to Annie.

Annie nervously chuckles at that statement and gets back up before Isabella can see that her cheeks and upper chest have turned bright red. Annie instantly trudges towards the table, starting to feel a little tipsy because of the alcohol. When she gets to her destination and looks for a bottle of white wine that has not been emptied yet, she feels a hand resting on her shoulder and flinches. Before she can turn around to see who it is, Britta appears next to her with a concerned look on her face.

“Hey, are you okay?” Britta asks Annie loudly to cover the sound of the music.

“Sure!” Annie responds in a high-pitched tone.

“Okay, that was way too enthusiastic, even for you.” Britta points out, frowning. “You’ve been chatting with Isabella for a while now.”

“I have, yeah.” Annie nods while pouring some wine into Isabella’s cup. “Jeff asked me to bond with her so that’s what I’m doing – I’m bonding.”

“Wait, really?” Britta exclaims, visibly surprised.

“Yeah, he said something about him wanting me to give Isabella a chance and try to get to know her better.” Annie mumbles, feeling her eyelids getting heavier.

“Maybe you should ease up on the drinking, sweetie.” Britta softly points out while laying a hand on Annie’s wrist.

“I know what I’m doing, Britta, okay? I don’t need your condescending judgmental tone.” Annie coldly retorts.

Annie regrets what she said right away and lays mortified eyes on a visibly shocked Britta, who is looking at Annie with widened eyes and her mouth slightly opened.

“I’m sorry Britta, I didn’t mean to –“

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” Britta interrupts Annie with a forced smile. “I, uh, I’ve noticed you looked on edge lately, I guess it was only a matter of time until you lashed out.”

“On edge?” Annie repeats, confused.

“Yes, Annie. On edge.” Britta confirms in a serious tone. “You’ve been acting weird. We all noticed you were not staying long in our group meetings or even straight up ignored them sometimes. And also, we live together now, remember? I can tell something’s wrong, even if you’re trying your hardest to hide it from us.”

Annie bites the inside of her cheek and lowers her eyes to the ground, defeated. They sure like to pick on Britta at times for choosing psychology as her new major but as it turns out, she happens to be on to something almost every time.

“I know it’s probably not… easy for you, seeing Jeff so happy with Isabella.” Britta keeps on saying in a sympathetic tone.

Annie tilts her head up again in order to look Britta in the eyes. Annie feels upset and bitter, not because Britta is playing the wannabe therapist at the moment, but because she hates that Britta is actually right.

“Even though we never addressed it, I know something happened back in Borchert’s lab.” Britta adds. “I know there was some serious subtext to your little speech. And it’s understandable, you used to have a crush on him, I assume you still think about it at times because he reacted poorly at the time and moving on is not as easy as we would like to believ –“

“I don’t want to have this conversation right now, Britta.” Annie abruptly interrupts her friend when she feels a weight in her stomach.

Annie does not give Britta a chance to add anything else when she swiftly turns around with two wine-filled glasses in her hands in order to walk back to Isabella. Annie sees she has not moved an inch since she left and it looks like the alcohol in her system started kicking in as well.

“Anniiiiiiiie, you’re back!” Isabella exclaims in an excessive joyful tone.

“I am, and not empty-handed.” Annie retorts playfully as she proudly shows the glasses she is holding.

“Oh my god, I am going to regret this tomorrow, I can feel it.” Isabella giggles as she grabs the glass Annie is handing her.

“Eh, don’t think about it, that’s a problem for Future You.” Annie says, waving her hand in front of her face.

“Ah, I got to admit Annie, I envy you.” Isabella then sighs before taking a sip.

“R – really?” Annie says, dumbfounded. “ _You_ … envy _me_? But why? I’m an ex-addict who ended up in a community college and has to live with roommates in a small apartment because I can’t afford to pay rent on my own. I don’t see how all of that can make you envious.”

“I envy how bright and full of life you are.” Isabella explains in a soft voice, a genuine smile on her face. “It looks like you have so much passion for everything you undertake and I can tell you’re living life at its fullest. It’s remarkable.”

“Oh. You know, I wasn’t always like this.” Annie admits with a shrug. “Meeting everyone and becoming friends with Jeff, Britta, Abed, Troy, Shirley and Pierce… They all helped me become who I am today. A lot. I owe it to them.”

“Sweetie, the only person you owe your achievements, success and happiness to is yourself.”

Isabella’s surprisingly wholesome statement makes Annie smile. As she plays with her glass in her hands, she lifts her head up and inadvertently locks eyes with Jeff, sitting on a bar stool across the room. She notices he is already quietly looking over her and Isabella, with a proud look on his face. When he notices Annie looking at him, he mouths “you’re the best” before winking at her. Her heart makes a somersault in her rib cage and afterwards, she can’t hold Jeff’s stare for too long.

“I actually used to be like you when I was your age.” Isabella adds, apparently oblivious to Annie’s quiet exchange with Jeff. “I was feisty, enterprising, very confident. Maybe a little cocky at times, even.” She winces before chuckling briefly.

“I refuse to believe you’re not confident or feisty anymore.” Annie tells her truthfully. “I mean, Isabella... You’re a daunting woman. I was very impressed by you the first time I saw you, honestly.”

“It’s the pantsuit, always does the trick.” Isabella jokes. “But yeah, Annie… Over time, you’ll see there’s so much more than meets the eye.”

“What does that mean?” Annie asks Isabella while curling her legs up under her.

“It means that it may look like my life is perfect but trust me when I say it’s far from being true.”

Annie’s ability to focus resurfaces at once when she understands that Isabella is subconsciously throwing her a line. This is it, Annie’s chance of finding out the truth is right there, right in this instant. She needs to take it before it is too late.

“I’m not buying that.” Annie instantly says, trying to be as good of an actress as possible. “Come on Isabella, you’re a successful marketing manager, you have a rockin’ bod, you’re dating a man who is very obviously crazy about you. Your life seems pretty perfect to me.”

“Everything is not what it seems, darling.” Isabella sighs.

“So… There’s a fly in the ointment, then?”

Annie is not subtle anymore but she does not care about being subtle. The only thing she cares about is to hear the truth coming out of Isabella’s mouth.

“What are you, the FBI?” Isabella taunts Annie, nudging her shoulder with Annie’s.

Annie chuckles nervously, hoping she did not lose the only opportunity she had of making Isabella talk. Annie can feel like it is now or never.

“I’m just… curious, you know.” Annie makes up on the spot. “I wonder what could possibly keep your life from being perfect.”

Annie hates herself right after she said all of that when she notices the way Isabella frowns and clicks her tongue in her mouth.

“Annie, my workplace environment is almost solely based on entitled straight white males, I can tell when someone’s bullshitting me.”

And just like that, it feels like everything is shattering around her. It feels like there is no more music, no more laughter, no more heat, no more dim lighting. Just Annie, sitting alone in a dark silent room.

But she can’t give up. Not now that she has gotten this far. She spent this entire evening bonding with Isabella, it cannot be for nothing. She has to get something out of it.

“Fine.” Annie concedes before exhaling sharply. “You caught me. I may have been low-key investigating.”

“Investigating?” Isabella repeats, astounded. “I’m sorry but I’m not following, what is there to investigate? Are you… trying to know if I’m right for Jeff or something?”

Annie feels a lump in her throat upon hearing Isabella’s harsh and upset tone. It looks like the previous bonding and wholesomeness are long gone.

“Look, Annie, I’m not… mad.” Isabella continues in a softer tone. “Well, no that’s not true, I _am_ a little mad to be honest, but mostly because I felt like we were truly getting along here and… Now I feel used, not going to lie.”

“I wasn’t using you.” Annie contradicts. “Per say.” She adds after Isabella raises one eyebrow at her. “I just… Ugh, I feel bad now because you’re right, we _were_ really getting along, I feel like we have a lot of things in common and we see eye-to-eye on so many things.”

“I know darling, I even saw a little bit of myself in you.” Isabella nods, pursing her lips.

“Right? And… I wasn’t just checking if you were good for Jeff because… Isabella, there’s something I know and it’s been suffocating me for weeks now and I can’t just pretend like everything’s okay when I’m actually tormented by this truth.”

Annie can tell Isabella is now hung on her every word. As if she knows exactly what is going to happen and is dreading it at the same time.

Annie takes a deep breath and can feel like her entire body is shaking. She does not know if she is just shivering because someone opened a window to smoke outside and thus the room is now chilly, or if she is shaking because of how nervous she actually feels.

“I… saw you kissing someone else. The day before Jeff introduced you to us.” Annie eventually confesses.

***

Annie has been locked in that bathroom with Isabella for at least ten minutes now and she does not know when Isabella will manage to stop crying. Annie awkwardly tries to comfort her by regularly giving her another tissue once Isabella has soaked the one she was using so far, or by patting her gently on her back. However, Annie does not know how long she will be able to stay here like this until someone – and by someone, she mostly means Jeff – notices the two of them have been gone for a little while.

“Ladies, I don’t really know what is going on in there, but some people actually need to wee-wee and it would be kind of you to take whatever you are currently doing elsewhere, if you will.” Annie hears from the other side of the door.

“Take your wee-wee elsewhere Duncan, we’re kind of in the middle of something right now!” Annie replies angrily while Isabella blows her nose.

“Alright, my apologies.” Duncan mumbles. “If only Jeffrey knew you two were locked in here, I’m sure a million different things would cross his poor caveman’s brain…”

Annie rolls her eyes at Duncan’s scurrilous comment before focusing back on Isabella. She has not stopped crying since Annie told her she saw her kissing another man. Annie can tell Isabella is strongly conflicted but her patience is wearing thin and she would actually like to have a proper explanation now.

“Hey look, I didn’t mean to make you feel this way, okay?” Annie tries while handing yet another tissue to Isabella. “I just… It’s been eating me alive knowing that and not being able to tell Jeff about it Isabella, so it would really help if we could actually talk this out, you know?”

“I am a horrible person, Annie.” Isabella wails with her lips trembling.

Annie starts opening her mouth to answer but quickly closes it as she realizes she does not actually know what to say to that. Confirm, contradict? How can she give an opinion when she still hasn’t gotten to the bottom of things?

“I’m not going to lie, of course, it goes beyond my understanding that you would cheat on Jeff when your relationship is still so new and –“

“Annie, that man you saw is my husband.”

Annie feels like someone just dropped a bucket of cold water on her. She is utterly and completely aghast. She imagined a lot of different scenarios but she has to admit she failed to think about _that_ kind of scenario.

“Your… _husband_?” Annie repeats, dumbfounded.

“Yes…” Isabella answers in a whisper before sniffling. “Jeff is actually the other man in this situation.”

“I don’t… understand.” Annie admits, completely lost. “W – why would you… Does Jeff know?”

“He doesn’t. Well… He _does_ , to some extent. But… It’s complicated.” Isabella stammers, obviously shaken.

“Well, enlighten me, please.” Annie retorts harshly, crossing her arms against her chest with a displeased look on her face.

Isabella sighs and taps the tissue under her eyes to remove the remaining tears still running down on her face. Annie tries very hard to push her sympathetic side away in order to listen carefully to whatever Isabella has to say. She has given her the benefit of the doubt long enough as it is.

“So, hmm… My husband and I are actually in divorce proceedings.” Isabella starts explaining calmly. “Things between us have been complicated for the past couple of years, so we agreed it would be best for us to part ways. Mutual decision.”

“I’m sorry but you two didn’t exactly look like you were about to divorce when I saw you that day.” Annie points out immediately, remembering the kiss.

“Well, I didn’t say it was easy. We are separating by mutual agreement but it doesn’t mean we no longer love each other. I’ve, hmm… Charles always wanted children, and tragically enough, after trying for a few years, we found out I was sterile.” Isabella confesses with a trembling voice. “And it eventually doomed our relationship.”

Annie swallows hardly and chooses to remain silent because she cannot pretend to understand what Isabella has been through. Even though she can very well understand how painful and difficult it must have been.

“When you saw us, it… was actually the day before we both signed the divorce papers. We… wanted to have one last normal day together. So we went to our favorite restaurant and had a walk in our favorite park. It was nice, actually.”

“I don’t get it… So you’re seeing someone else while separating from a man you still love? Doesn’t really make a lot of sense.”

“If you’re only here to judge me, I’m not sure it’s a good idea we keep having this conversation.” Isabella abruptly says.

“I’m sorry but what did you expect?” Annie scoffs, not believing what she hears. “It looks like you’ve been through a lot and I’m sorry for that, but this is crazy and twisted, and you’re going to end up hurting Jeff and breaking his heart. I can’t just sit back, watch and say nothing!!”

“Look Annie, your little unrequited crush on him is cute, I’ll give you that, but what’s going on between me and Jeff is none of your business.”

Annie suddenly feels an unprecedented rage boiling inside of her at Isabella’s condescending tone. The small amount of empathy she had left towards Isabella are now completely obliterated.

“None of my _business_??” Annie repeats between clenched teeth. “I have to watch you playing house with Jeff while being perfectly aware you’re lying to his face on a daily basis. Jeff is my friend, he’s a good person and he doesn’t deserve to be treated like shit.”

“Why would I treat him like shit?” Isabella rebels. “I have feelings for him, contrary to what you seem to think. He’s a great guy, he cherishes me and he makes me feel so alive, I hadn’t felt this way in such a long time and forgive me for savoring it while it lasts!”

Annie tries to regain her composure and calm herself down in order to ask the other questions she has in mind, even though Isabella’s pouting face is strongly getting on her nerves at that moment.

“You mentioned Jeff knew about your husband, to some extent.” Annie forces herself to say calmly. “What did you mean by that?”

Isabella seems to relax as well and leans against the bathroom’s sink before exhaling and pushing her hair back on her head. Even after spending ten minutes crying, she still looks frustratingly gorgeous and Annie hates it.

“Jeff knows about Charles, but he thinks we already got a divorce a few months ago.” Isabella explains in a defeated sigh. “At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal because Jeff and I were just chatting at the gym. It was a safe place for me, a place where I was finally breathing again, where I was finally something else than Charles’ soon-to-be ex-wife. There, I was my own person. And I loved it. So how was that such a bad thing, telling a white lie to an attractive stranger… But quickly enough, the chatting at the gym turned into chatting at the bar, then chatting at a coffee date, and chatting at a fancy restaurant… I couldn’t bear myself to tell Jeff the truth after all these weeks because everything was going so well and naturally, I started having feelings and… I was afraid of losing him.”

“And that seemingly innocent white lie caught up with you to the point it turned into a whopper.” Annie adds to Isabella’s explanation.

Isabella purses her lips and nods to show that Annie is right. Annie lowers her eyes and presses her fingers together, oddly feeling like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders, even though the problem still remains. At least, now, she knows the truth.

“Annie, you have to trust that I never meant to hurt Jeff, or anyone else, for that matter.” Isabella says after a few seconds of silence. “Things just got complicated very fast and I didn’t know how to fix the mess I made and –“

“I know.” Annie interrupts her in a light sigh. “We’ve been sharing enough personal stories tonight for me to see you’re not a bad person.”

Annie sees Isabella’s eyes gleaming again, and she quickly reacts because she knows she cannot put up with another ten minutes of Isabella crying on her shoulder.

“But Jeff deserves to know the truth, Isabella.” Annie instantly says. “You can’t decently pretend to build something serious with him when your relationship is based on a lie. It’s not fair to him, to your husband, and I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but it’s not fair to you either. All it does is hurting you.”

“I know. And you’re right, you’re completely right… But how do I bring it up now? It seems impossible and I will never find the right words. And it’s going to hurt Jeff a great deal and I can’t bring myself to hurt him.”

“Well, I guess I can give you a pretty good motivation – either you tell him or I do.” Annie states assertively.

Isabella looks at Annie with a genuine pain in her eyes and even though Annie’s heart tightens at that sight, she tries as hard as she can to look confident. This situation has to end, now.

“Annie, please, it has to come from me, he can’t hear it from someone else…” Isabella whimpers with tears in her eyes.

“I know. Which is why I really don’t want to be the one telling him. You owe him that much, Isabella.”

Annie can read all of Isabella’s internal struggle on her face and it upsets her as much as it pains her. She really does not want to be in Isabella’s shoes right now, even though she is certain karma has eventually done its work, but she also knows she has to “support” her in any capacity, given she is the only one who knows the truth about that situation.

Therefore, Annie steps forward, slowly takes Isabella’s hand in hers and squeezes it in order to show her support.

“You’re doing the right thing.” Annie tells her softly. “Trust me.”

Annie tries to convince herself what she says is true and that it is all for the best. Even though her heart aches at the thought Jeff is probably going to struggle recovering from this.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to picture Rashida Jones for Isabella because I think she fits the physical description very well :)


End file.
